FuzeHub grants awarded to projects in Central New York, Southern Tier

ALBANY, N.Y. — FuzeHub announced it has awarded grant funding to collaborative projects in Central New York and the Southern Tier through its Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund.

The Albany–based nonprofit FuzeHub provides small- to mid-sized manufacturers with “guided access to an extensive network of industry experts, programs, and resources to solve business growth challenges,” per its announcement.

With the fund, FuzeHub offers manufacturing grants to New York nonprofits — including higher-education institutions — that propose innovative projects in partnership with a New York state small- to mid-sized manufacturer.

Project categories cover adoption of new technology to enhance a process and/or product, prototype development, design for manufacturing, proof-of-concept manufacturing, certain equipment purchases, manufacturing scale-up, and other projects to advance manufacturing capabilities.

The Innovation Fund, consisting of more than $1 million annually, supports a set of activities designed to spur technology development and commercialization across New York. It’s made possible through funding and support from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) and the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), FuzeHub said.

The projects

FuzeHub awarded $50,000 grants to each of the following projects:

• Upstate Medical University’s CNY Biotech Accelerator in Syracuse and CathBuddy, Inc. will use their funding to support testing required for their product submission to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, “ultimately leading to their ability to enter the Aurie reusable catheter system into the catheter market,” FuzeHub said.
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is partnering with Douglas Outdoors, a fishing-rod manufacturer in Phoenix in Oswego County, on a 12-month project that involves prototyping a fishing rod made of thermoplastic composites, “a first of its kind in the recreational fishing market, using a novel manufacturing process called Hot Roll Wrapping,” per the FuzeHub announcement.
• Binghamton University’s Northeast Center for Chemical and Energy Storage (NECCES)/ Dynami Battery Corp are working on a microstructured lithium battery manufacturing validation project
• Koffman Southern Tier Incubator/ LiBAMA Power Corporation are working on a project that targets manufacturing development of advanced 3D anodes for lithium batteries.
• Binghamton University’s Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) and Opal Wearables, Inc. of New York City are partnering to develop a “thoughtfully designed smart ring that provides discreet safety and protection.” The device can silently send requests for help to 911 or emergency contacts with the user’s GPS location and information.